Newsletter October 2016 | Issue 5/16 Page 1 | News p.1-2 | Events p.3 | Awards p.3 | Campus Story p.4 | International p.5 Networking of, for and with Alumni EDITORIAL Dear Alumni of the University of Bremen, ews from the Böttcherstraße: On August 23, 2016, about 50 alumni Ncame together in the Böttcherstraße at the invitation of the board of the the University of Bremen has again welco- Sparkasse Bremen and chairman of our board, Dr. Tim Nesemann. Nese- med around 5,500 first-semester students mann provided us with details on why the Sparkasse bought the today wor- in October. In our Campus Story, we will ld-famous Böttcherstraße in 1989 and passed over the ownership to a foun- provide an insight into what orientation loo- dation, and what all that had to do with the self-concept of the Sparkasse. ked like, inviting you to think back to your Afterwards, the alumni split into two groups. Director Dr. Frank Schmidt own first days at the University of Bremen. showed one of the groups ‘his’ Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum and ex- Ideas ‘Made in Bremen’: The Univer- plained the courageous but convincing concept of confronting its historic sity of Bremen is a member of the uni- artwork with that of the young, contemporary artist Laura Eckert. It was asto- versity initiative BRIDGE, which supports start-up companies nishing how the current works fit into the historic context and simultaneous- from universities. On page 2, we will introduce some of the win- ly allowed a new perspective on the historic pieces. Referring to the catch ners of the recently awarded ideas competition CAMPUSiDEEN. phrase of a TV station, one alumna, who had visited the museum before, I would again like to invite all members to the 11th ge- said: “So hab ich das noch nie gesehen!” (“I’ve never seen it that way!”) neral meeting of our association at the Teerhof Guest- The other group was led through the Böttcherstraße by Uwe Bölts. Most house of the University of Bremen on October 25, 2016. Bremen locals probably know that, at the beginning of the 19th century, Lud- The official invitation has been sent to all members via email. wig Roselius bought the house at number 6 and initially set up the admini- On November 29, 2016, we conclude this year’s events calen- stration of his coffee company there. After World War I, Roselius had the dar with a conversation with the executive director of the Kunst- street architecturally designed according to plans by Bernhard Hoetger. Yet, halle Bremen as well as a tour through the new Max Liebermann it was about more than just a street – it was a vision for the future. It was exhibition. The art gallery has been financed through private funds Roselius’ belief that Atlantis, which is also the name of one of the houses, for over 150 years. Find out more about this events on page 3. sank in Germania, in the North Sea, a belief which has been the topic of I hope you enjoy reading our newsletter. scientific congresses. Within the tension field of proximity and distance to the National Socialists, Roselius tried to develop his vision of the future and With best wishes from campus, express it in this street. Uwe Bölts showed us pictures of the damage caused to the Atlantis House in World War II and explained why it has been rebuilt quite differently. Derk H. Schönfeld The subsequent get-together took place on the terrace of the Paula Moder- sohn-Becker Museum, filling the beautiful summer night with lively conver- sations. One alumna later said goodbye with the following remark: “This was Recent Update on YouTube! In June, our alumni visited the German Bundestag. You again such a wonderful event! When is the next one going to be?” can find the video on the excursion on our YouTube channel. On that channel, we also /Michael Wolf regularly introduce one of our members. This time, we will profile the Bremen alumnus and lawyer Bernhard Docke. Docke represented Bremen local Murat Kurnaz, who was imprisoned in Guantanamo, and secured his release. We hope you enjoy the video! Visit to the DFKI n the 20. of Septem- sor Rolf Drechsler, the alumni were Ober our alumni vise- granted insight to the research Impressions of the Böttcherstraße. © Alumni of the Universitity of Bremen e.V. ted the German Research area of Cyber-Physical Systems at Bremen Uni and DFKI. After the our Living Labs,” Drechsler said. sociable get-together with wine introduction by chairman Dr. Rein- The alumni split up into smaller and pretzels. The alumni enga- hard Ahlers, Rolf Drechsler took groups in order to visit the BAALL ged in conversation and exchan- over and gave elaborate details (Bremen Ambient Assisted Living ged their thoughts on the event. on the researchof the DFKI. Their Lab) and the world champion in ro- “It has again been very interesting, main focus lies on safety and secu- bot soccer, B-Human. The BAALL and we learned quite a bit,” one rity of intelligent software systems. is a research lab for intelligent participant said. It was remarked “We want to avoid any damage technologies and helps develop that impressive developments with in the first place. Therefore, we systems that will assist people in clear visions have been made in Center for Artificial Intelligence want to build secure systems, their home but also outside of it. the field of artificial intelligence. (DFKI). At the invitation of Profes- which are tested extensively in As usual, the event ended with a /WB NEWSLETTER | News Page 2 6 QUESTIONS FOR... n every newsletter, we ask a member six questions about his or her time in Bremen. For this issue, we interviewed Devrim Yilmaz. He was Ischolarship holder for the Deutschlandstipendium at the Uni Bremen. Today he is working for a management consultancy service. If you would also like to appear in this section, please contact the office at [email protected]. se the degree mainly for the about the concept, the campus, this is doubtlessly a major effort multitude of focus areas in Bre- the people, and all the reports, for many professors, for which men. Initially, I had applied to so that I simply had to apply at I am very thankful until today. various universities in the region once. Two days later, I received for English linguistics and com- the invitation, which came so 4. What advice would you like to give the parative/European law because spontaneously that it turned the students of the University of Bremen? I have long had a passion for entire plan for my semester upsi- I would simply recommend English, and I wanted to study de down. However, thanks to the everyone to find their own in- internationally under all circum- collaboration of my professors, it dividual path and, first and fo- stances. In the end, the focus was still possible for me to attend. remost, to enjoy it instead of on IEM (International Entre- only striving towards a goal. preneurship & Management) 3. Who or what has influen- majorly influenced my decision. ced your career the most? 5. What do you associate with The flexibility and the support of the University of Bremen? Please 2. What is your most important me- different professors, especially complete the following sentence: mory of the University of Bremen? of Prof. Dr. Marx, have definitely “The University of Bremen is…” My most important memory influenced ... a piece of home for me, did not actually take my and it has given me the chan- place at Bre- „I would simply recommend ce to reach my true poten- men University everyone to find their own individual path and, tial and achieve my goals. © Devrim Yilmaz but instead was first and foremost, to enjoy it“ 1. When did you study/work at the made possible by 6 What does Alumni of the Univer- University of Bremen, and what it. It was participa- sity of Bremen e.V. stand for in your were your reasons to study here? ting in the Babson Entre- eyes? Please complete the following Officially, I studied business ad- preneurship Program in Boston. path with my sometimes very sentence: „In my eyes, Alumni of ministration at Bremen Univer- I can very well remember how I exotic and unusual endeavors the University of Bremen e.V. is…”. sity between 2012 and 2016 but sat on my balcony with my Marke- the most. Although Bremen Uni- ... a means of staying in con- have effectively only been there ting textbook when I received an versity can be very strict at times, tact with Bremen University, for the first two years because I email from the Bremen University I always had the feeling to be networking with other alumni, continued with different study and team of the Deutschlandstipendi- given a fair scope of flexibility and and being involved with the fu- internship positions abroad from um with the call for applications. that professors had an open ear. ture successes of the institution. summer 2014 onwards. I cho- I was immediately enthusiastic In such a large degree course, /WB Winner of the Ideas Competition CAMPUSiDEEN New StartUp Workouts n September 26, 2016, the Bremen Chamber of among them, one would hope that they all make it.” OCommerce hosted the annual award ceremony of the The winners of the category ‘business plans’ are ‘Licht Is your startup rea- CAMPUSiDEEN competition. The project is a joint initiati- durch Holz’ – woodmosphere GbR of founders Christo- dy for the market? ve of the University of Bremen, the Bremen University of pher Heyer and Joscha Schmidt.